What the hell kind of episode was that?! No. Just, no. I’m beginning to fear that this series is heading in a very unpleasant direction here…

First of all: why the sister? Yeah, I know that she’s not a sister and actually a cousin and all, but that makes it even worse: it’s the same kind of twist you see pulled in all of those other bloody incest shows in order to pretend that it’s supposedly “okay”. I mean dear god: anime creators: most siblings out there can get along with each other just fine without any romance, you know? Why does every show with a brother and sister have to have romance between them!?

Second of all, you actually did it. I so kept hoping for the creators not to do it after all that sappy build-up but instead of killing off Asuna, she was just put on a bus. Completely changed from a strong female character to a plot device to get Kirito back playing the game, and she seems to be reduced to a trophy that he needs to save. So much for feminism there.

What’s even worse though was that completely unpleasant and nonsensical marriage subplot that was thrown in. I mean holy crap, what kind of sense does that make? Why won’t Kirito try to contact the police on that matter? I know that technically it can make sense, but it’s a completely disrespectful twist on Asuna’s part. Not to mention, how the OP treats her, shoving some kind of weird elf in her place.Rating:3/8 (Enjoyable)

86 Responses

I actually feel that the brother complex theme is being handled in a good way (specially for this show’s standards) this time, it being an overused trope is a different matter to me. Unfortunately the main conflict is unbearably corny and, if the studio decided to butcher the first side-stories of the show, the could at least have toned down how lame the villain was in this episode.

Well, some people might not like the typical “knight in a white horse rescuing the princess” plot, but I kind of find this second arc of the novels way more enjoyable and consistent than the first one. As to Suguha liking Kirito, their dynamic is better explained in the novels, but alas, no much time in the anime to explain this subplot…

Below is my way of seeing Kazuto and Suguha relation MIGHT BE MINOR SPOILERS SO BEWARE…

Kazuto and Suguha relation dynamic in my opinion it’s neither good nor bad, their relation is far away from incest though: Kirito and Suguha actually were not really close as siblings at all before the SAO incident, they were more like two strangers living in the same house, Kirito kind of distanced himself from her after finding he was adopted, plus there was a problem with their Grandfather concerning kendo(If I remember correctly their grandfather was a Kendo dojo owner), which made Kirito keep his distance from Suguha even more, and made him get inmerced in online gamming, After the SAO incident, Suguha learned that they were not related, figured out that she actually didn’t know him at all, and tried to close the gap in their siblings relation by trying to learn a little bit more about Kazuto’s way of seeing the world, this, coupled with the fact that Kazuto came back as a more mature and an overall different individual made her see him in a different light, and develop a sort of crush on him. Anyway, Kirito has eyes only for Asuna, so we all know she’s going to get rejected in the end.

Now concerning Kazuto and Sugou… Please consider the following. You as a parent of a comatose girl have your “trusted” family friend, which you have known for years, both him and the rest of his family on one hand, and on the other, you have this high school kid that “claims” that he was your dauther’s boyfriend in game. I´m saying “claim” as there was no way to know what was going on in SAO other than the words from the people trapped in there and some specullations based on biometrics and some other statistics that I don’t remember. Anyway, who will you most willing to believe in? I’m actually find that very plausible. Sugou has been fooling Asuna’s family for a while now keeping his “great prospect” facade, he is a “succesful member of socity” in general, and Kazuto is just a highschooler that spent two years of his life in a hospital… Come on!! The plot is not that far fetched :)

I 100% agree with you, seeing that I’ve read the novels as well. This second arc is much easier to follow once begun b/c the one week time constraint sugou puts on kazuto, so we wont see the few month skips like the first arc.

Cousin thing, not that big of deal in Japan, not really a twist. People naturally call slightly older relatives and friends there big brother or big sister, not really meant to be an incest circumvent all the time. This is the same as you misunderstanding Chitose being incest because she called the guy Onii-chan.

I remember that during the whole series I heard several otakus complaining and wondering what was happening in real life. They were in the hospital? How did they eat? As they defecated? This episode seemed like the director’s response. You want real life, so take it! It is so breathtaking as a Mexican soap opera. No more perfect houses on the lakes, no more virgin brides and chaste grooms… and no more advanced fighting system. Just real life.

Haha true a lot of people were asking. I think Reki Kawahara was trying to get through the “what was happening in real life?” question with the beginning of his second novel, which he did very well. This episode did portray it correctly. your question on defecate….well in the novel it is explained that the people are on super state of the art antibacterial gel beds that are apparently supposed to absorb excrements? was touched on a bit, so he did give an idea on how it was done lol didnt really look like that in the episode though

My taste isn’t horrible, I love everything as long as it’s good. In fact I like many of the series psgels and others here have liked, but unlike the lot of those people I also like things they didn’t like. I’m the same with music. Why not enjoy as many things as possible?

That hardly makes sense, and I said “I hope” and I “don’t really know” This is what I mean by overreacting; at any rate, I respect psgels opinion despite any differences between us, otherwise I wouldn’t be here

Nonsense my ass.
Don’t even get me started on what I think of personality types that hate the Mastermind, which was likely the same of at least one of the creators/writers. Same reason so many poeple hated Yagami and his beliefs, excuse me for loving both mainstream and non mainstream, sorry I’m not a hipster with convoluted ideas about how reality and life actually works. I’ve lived around the world and been on the brink of death more than once, I’ve seen insanity and illogical story telling of reality all of my life. Wake up and smell the beans man. I’m willing to bet most people didn’t realize half of the crap CG was making statements about.

Yeah, try to make sense of one of the action of the Prince of Nonsense.
Try to justify the twisted nonsense of a plot, specially in the second season.
Tell me what were Nunnaly, or Shirley, if not only lame plot devices and nothing else.
Oh, that series was colorful bullshit, nothing else.
And hipster my ass, I know many people that says mainstream equals good, and also many people that says mainstreams equals bullshit, both of them are quite wrong, bullshit equals bullshit and thats all to it, from wherever it comes no matter how mainstream or not it is.

Meh. You take out the fun of it.
I would want to still discuss about Code Geass, trying to find what people find witty about that plot, but that’s going -way- offtopic. So, maybe in another place, in another time.

I find it amusing at how the OP treats Asuna. Just looking at it gives the impression that Kirito is just going to completely ditch Asuna for the sister.
And it doesn’t end there…the next arc also completely pushes Asuna and the sister aside for a new girl….it annoys me. So much.

I wonder if it’s intentional to keep the audience guessing about how the story will turn out.

I always felt Suguha to be the new protagonist in Fairy Dance. Unlike Asuna, who is a supporting character to Kirito’s story, this is Suguha’s story about how she reconnects with Kazuto. A huge part of the story will be told in her perspective.

While with the previous arc SAO was enjoyable (as long as you didn’t look too hard for the plot holes) unfortunately this arc is just REALLY bad. It has the lamest excuse for a villain ever and unfortunately it just gets worse. It’s like a plot from a bad NTR doujinshi.

The later novels are actually not bad although they still do tend to follow the tend of Kirito collecting his harem. It just is a huge pity that volumes 3 and 4 exist.

I get what you mean about Sugou but I also get why they created someone like him as a plot device, to put Kirito on the clock and try to save Asuna himself and possibly to explain a little about why Kayaba went to the extent he did to stop him and others like him from screwing with his dream castle. And I loved Suguha as a character.

I actually loved the OP and ED myself. It shows off the new cast, along with a pretty good depiction of the current crisis and the struggles that need to be overcome. I wasn’t expecting it so early though. At the very least, I thought Kazuto would have to dive into ALO first. Plus the episode squeezed an awful lot of plot into it. :( Lots of flashbacks to explain Suguha’s emotional state.

First of all: why the sister?

Given what we know of Kazuto’s anti-social nature before he got trapped in SAO, I would imagine Suguha may have been the closest person to him in real life. She would be his best emotional support next to Asuna during this current crisis.

I know you guys will jump on incest the minute you notice her relationship and how big a role she seems to have in the new season but IMHO she plays a pretty good role in it and I would personally urge you to give her a chance as a character. She represents Kazuto’s old life before he got trapped in SAO. You might want to go rewatch episode 4, where Kirito talks about his relationship with Suguha. Bear in mind that she was raised never knowing Kazuto wasn’t really her brother til after he got trapped in SAO. I suspect she was told this because there would be no guarantee that Kazuto would awaken at all. 2000 players died within a month of the start of SAO so I suppose Suguha may have been living with the possibility of Kazuto dying anytime for two years. Her feelings for him would be pretty complicated, I would imagine, after he finally woke up. Add to that him having found someone important online, who was still in a coma and would constantly go visit her, etc. Seeing Kazuto broken like that may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Second of all, you actually did it. I so kept hoping for the creators not to do it after all that sappy build-up but instead of killing off Asuna, she was just put on a bus.

Well, put it this way: If all was well in paradise, there wouldn’t be much of a story left to tell. ^^ If Asuna had awakened normally, even with Kayaba still missing and another 299 people still in a coma, do you think Kazuto or Asuna, a pair of students, would get involved? Well, you saw that photo at the end, right? (Yes! I knew they’d end 15 with that photo. XD) Asuna’s not out of the picture yet.

Why won’t Kirito try to contact the police on that matter?

Kazuto’s in a very weak position and recognizes it. Sugou is a close Yuuki family friend, trusted by Asuna’s father and almost betrothed to Asuna, albeit against her will. Without her conscious or any other kind of proof, there’s not a lot Kazuto can do since Sugou is responsible for keeping Asuna alive and is apparently the only one who may be able to get her to regain consciousness, since what was left of the old SAO system is now in his hands. Worse case scenario: Kazuto goes to the police, they start investigating Sugou, Sugou pulls the plug on Asuna (literally) to cover his tracks. Plus, Kazuto is pretty emotionally torn up right now. 2 months of rehab, worrying about Asuna, missing her terribly, and with no clue how to help her, etc. Sugou may have recognized this, which is why he was willing to drop that bomb on him to break him completely. It looks like it would have worked too, if not for Suguha.

I think that even being a family friend etc. etc., either legislation has regressed terribly in the future, or marrying an underage comatose woman without her explicit consent should be a crime regardless of how highly her father thinks of her future “husband”.

Fair enough. All I’m trying to do is point out if something could be seen in a different light cos I’m obviously seeing things from a different perspective. It’s up to you guys to decide if you like it or not.

I like Psgels’ episodic reviews though, for certain series. It’s just a place to shout out about something about that week’s episode that got to you, good or bad. And maybe speculate about the series direction. As long as there’s something about the series that makes you want to say something each episode.

Like this week, I was wondering how everyone would take Asuna’s condition. How many people saw it coming? I thought last season’s ending should have been on a hopeful note. If Kazuto made it out, Asuna should have as well. But it didn’t work out that way. How?
Why? Is Kayaba still at it? Sugou is taking advantage of it but how? And what’s with this new MMO where Asuna appears to be trapped in? Did Kayaba make another game?

Also cool for me, was Kazuto bringing his sword skills into real life somehow. He hasn’t touched kendo since he was a kid but somehow he can go toe-to-toe with the nation’s no.8 middle school kendo practitioner while still in the middle of rehab.

“Also cool for me, was Kazuto bringing his sword skills into real life somehow.”

This was by far my favorite part of the episode. It was as intense as any boss fight in SAO (if not more so) because it felt so much more “real.” Let’s see how ultimate Kirito fares in real life if the NervGear was really as “bodily realistic” as it was claimed. And sure enough, it definitely impressed.

You know, for all of the “higher level makes you stronger” nonsense, it’s really the part I don’t like about MMORPGs in general. I’m a fan of games based more on player skill — and with NervGear, this level of “realism” can make a game a lot more fun.

This episode (well, this fight in particular) made me realize that the author has this amazing platform to build off of, and yet he chose to go down the “leveling up/grinding” path for the game. With the technology capable of such realism, make it more realistic, damn it — force Kirito to truly “get better” as a player, not “level up.”

My problem isn’t when people likes what they watch, it’s when they praise it like it’s a first coming and happen to overrate it too much by the time it ends. It’s bad enough the same people who watches Ghibli animation sees normal anime in a bad light.

I want the anime industry to succeed but if they keep showing stuff like this, it will never get out of its niche like game industry did. When there are so many anime too good to be faded away, typical formulaic anime comes along and ruins the already bad reputation anime industry gained. And hell, I enjoy Moe anime just as anybody but I don’t rate them all highly.

By the time it finishes, it’s going to be one of those anime to be remembered along with PMMM and it bugs me.

Technically, if someone really likes a show THAT much, then you can’t really say they’re overrating it – it really is that good to them. It only becomes an issue if they started to present their own opinion as facts, which tbh is a common problem for both the fans and detractors of any show.

And that is a problem. this sort of mediocrity becomes a standard. What is worse they already present their opinions as facts. Just look at **** ***** seen as a masterpiece. Well I guess at least it helps me to know there is much hardcore fanbase.

I agree people overrated this sooooo much. I mean it is pretty obvious that Accel World >>>>> SAO and Campione!>> SAO. So SAO can’t be the best ever like so many think, it is clearly only the 3rd best series ever

about his sister you wrong she wont left out of this arc in fact she will be in all the episodes also what suguo did to asuna in this episode is nothing compard to the ugly things he will did for the rest of the episodes

I’m not a big fan of the ALO arc (which we are in now) because (a) sister/cousin drama and (b) Asuna the damsel, so I can’t even really tell you off for this overly negative post. But aside from these two points, the ALO arc is actually a straightforward adventure story (the go from point A to point B kind) and it’s pretty decent if you can bear with the angst and the drama. There’s a light at the end of this tunnel and the arc after this one is actually meaningful again and raises critical issues about PTSD as well as ties up some loose ends from SAO.

I don’t mean to debase the course of dialogue here with a flippant remark, but this -is- from the same writer as Accel World, etc…

With the number of decent-seeming shows this season compared to the last, I don’t think it’s a loss to cut SAO if it goes to the dumps. I’ve not seen the source material, so I’m willing to keep an open mind, but I’ve not heard great things. Then again, many seem to be even less of fans of much of the first arc.

AW isn’t THAT bad. Really. As for SAO, I’ve read the first ten light novels. They are actually pretty good as far as light novels go, but the author has a disposition to long info dumps, deus ex machinae, willpower beats logic, and overdramatization. But he does something right: all arcs have their individual style and deal with interesting topics like PTSD, AI rights, etc. Of course, it is a LN, so it’s all very coarse and superficial, but you can expect as much from any young adult-targetted novel in the West, too.

Lastly, think about the consequences of going to the police at this stage. He has no solid proof. She has been hidden and can be literally get deleted. The villain is likely a figurative god over her world. They will likely laugh him out their division.

Going to the police = absolute worst possible choice in this scenario.

Psgels, why can’t you just finally admit that SAO is a really badly written Anime?
I’m still waiting for the day, where you’ll say: “okay I give up, this show is just bad”
.
Focus on other shows, which definitely deserves more attention than SAO. It’s already hyped beyond good and evil among the animne community.

And I still can’t believe people are STILL defending this terrible show. It seems the only people who find SAO “legitimately good” are rabid fanboys, who have only watched 10+ animes in their live and don’t know shit about good story telling and proper narrative structure, and the other group of people who are defending this show are those extremely obstinate and annoying “light novel” readers, who are trying to sugarcoat every aspect of SAO.

Just give in and stop defending this show, why are you even lying to yourself, even though you know -deep inside- the show is stupid as hell?

I don’t consider myself as a SAO fanboy nor haven’t read the novels, but I still find the series enjoyable. Even though, I have seen 200+ different animes, I find SAO’s concept refreshing. Different tastes I guess.

That i dont undertand is the terrible hate against the series, I dont say is the best anime ever but is prety good, it have a objetive, a solid plot it goes A to B, also whit his fast passing, and dont have the absurd´s surealism of “greats” anime shows. Is a fair show and i enyoied to much. And please can you dont put estaments of other people I have watched over 400 animes also many of the people that like the show saw the same amount, and belive me they are not fanboys or anything else, if you dont like it, dont see the show, is simply.

I’ve watched 300+ anime and I still find SAO plenty enjoyable. The concept is interesting and the characters are nice. Obviously there are issues with the show, but they are not enough to completely ruin the show. Anyway, nothing I say will change your mind. You are in that dreaded mode where you believe opinion = fact.

To be honest, SAO really sucked shit. Each episode was more and more depressing and yes, what animez said is correct. Those who mainly support sword art online are rabbit fanboys who 1. Do not know anything about quality anime (a.k.a main streamers). 2. I’m sure majority of you fanboys are just accepting plain major fan service and be honest here, you guys just like looking at Asuna or kirito’s sis. Waiting for “that” particular scene to happen. 3, are under peer pressure just because your friends said that this anime had good quality or whatsoever.

I can go on and on when I get my computer back but lets just get straight to the point here. Before we comment on this blog let us not judge a book by its cover. But rather judge SAO or any other anime with ANIME standards only. Sure many people have their likes and dislikes about for different anime and some try to defend their beliefs and such. But before stating your opinions, please read the blog and understand what message it is trying to deliver. This discussion is to discuss the flaws of swort art online. So before saying your wrong and I’m right bullshit just read the threat and posts and judge the anime by ANIME standards only. Not your personalized opinion about why it is good without a reason. Yes I’m referring to fanboys and ecchi lovers.

The sister thing is a trope (Sugu is in fact voiced by the Oreimo girl), but it didn’t bother us as much. Here is a girl who knows the truth – Kirito is not her real brother – and sat beside his hospital bed for two years, worried that he may never wake up. It’s concievable that this is when she fell in love with him, not before: a love bourne out of fear of loss, and without him she’d be alone (we know, we’re speculating, but that’s how we saw it).

We do agree, however, that making poor Asuna – who was an awesome character – into a passive plot device at the mercy of various men (some with good intentions, others with VERY SKEEVY intentions) does her – and us – a tremendous disservice. The OP with the new game (?) in which the characters have elf ears was just sort of…there. We would have preferred no OP at all rather than a preview to future events that had zero to do with this episode’s events.

What we did like was how Kazuto’s month-long transition back to the real world has progressed. It’s cool how he still has his combat skills (though his non-kendo style throws off Sugu) and the experience makes him want to take kendo back up. His routine sword-sheathing motion was a really nice detail and a case of him still being in the game. But yeah, we’re hoping Asuna wakes up as soon as possible.

I’m not a fan or anything and honestly I only watched SAO because I the first episode . That’s it. I’m doing a little comparison and also posting to “test” my use of language and persuasive skills. Also I want Asuna to wake up do we can proceed with the story and not this stupidly awkward meaningless unexplained relationship between Asuna and kirito.

Unexplained?, the both of them was nearly killed in the game, they developed feelings each other in base of the dangerous situations, and the support that each other offering in that situations. Is not that comlicated Desu Chan. the love born of simple, but powerfulls things.

Now THAT is what I call irony by proxy. I couldn’t stop laughing. How perfect! That’s quite something. The sister (potential love interest) is acted by the sister (potential love interest) in “My little sister can’t possibly be this cute!”

That’s just amazing. I am grinning right now. IRL. Hoho, well played, SAO! Well played!

Hell, least Persona 4 worked as an adaptation, which as a fan of the game was fun to watch. This…thing, just has the worst script writing since Guilty Crown aired; acts like it’s deep but ends up turning in circles and accomplishing nothing.

Ah. Finally watched it. Thought it was decent enough, the opening was surreal, the cousin was meh but not unbelievable, the villain was a piece of shit with lots of pull as he aught to be. I’m a bit estranged by this episode though I did enjoy it enough. I’m just waiting to see where this goes. To the people who hate this show, just give it up already, stop preaching your “master race of superior anime shows” crap. Neither you or I have a stake in the anime industry, you have nothing to do with it; in all actuality you will probably never create a story to be consumed by others in the same matter. I don’t think Asuna being trapped degrades her either, it’s not like she’s the only one. Fema-nazis might disagree, and it’s not like I like it but well, should this same thing be disallowed in any story for all of time? What purpose does that serve? Kirito can’t go the police as it was said before. Anyways, its not over yet, as long as the story has a solid conclusion, I’ll be happy to have watched it; though, a bad ending or stupid conclusion, to the likes I’ve seen before… *cough* (darker than black season 2) it will instantly earn my hate/dislike.

Not that anyone cares, on the subject of incest, scientifically speaking everyone is related to each other…. twice. Over time a klan will break into branches and eventually create very varied genes. Whether you believe in evolution or something more supernatural life was born out of “incest” a small group of common beings swapping genetics and slowly mutating or changing over time. I don’t really think incest to be that big of a deal, other than an increased risk for genetic diseases the closer the relation, scientifically it’s viable enough to continue a species and eventually balance itself out anyway. Anyways, here are common views and taboos in todays society, but in the past or even the future it might be entirely different.

Well, I think you get the wrong point. Psgels, and some of us, did not actually bother with the social taboo. It’s just the portrayal of it is too common and too cliched in anime, till the point that it feels like Japanese siblings in anime could not be allowed a normal relationship. I think he is talking about it in a narrative point of view.

actually this episode sealed the deal for me. I’m dropping this crap. Ill just assumed that Asuna woke up too and they lived hapily ever after. . . the show ended after episode 14. . .time to move on now.

you guys are so harsh….yes,this show got a lot of plothole, nevertheless this show got likeable protagonist and heroine for me. I always hate the ones like naruto, bleach and beelzebub, typical shounen hero.

For me, flawed hero like rurouni kenshin and kirito is better since this will give chance for their character development and give more depth to the character.

This anime is not the greatest nevertheless good enough. Still, the villain in this arc is lame….typical villain..sigh…
hope at least asuna will got her moment in this arc instead of just a damsel in distress…

Thank you for a comment that actually makes sense and not all this fanboy hate/love crap. I agree completely that the show is not bad, but has flaws. All the haters just don’t like how overrated it is and that just amplifies their hate for it.

um.. since the anime cut most of the good part in novel. it make the mc of this anime look too perfect i think. that what make people hate this series. beside the episode of each story to short so the character development do not quite showed.

I think what needs to be remembered is that it isn’t the directors fault or the writers or w/e. They are simply following the novels as close as possible, and being that I’ve read all of them, they are spot on lol it does slow down a lot here and present quite a bit of set backs, but it will pick up

Jealous?, then don’t watch
The anime is just beginning it’s not the end or something
Overrated?, from your point of view? then create a poll of rating and wait until thousand of people rates this anime.
Incest? just your imagination beyond the anime, read the light novel

^_^ too many haters/jealous in this site comparing their fav anime hahahahahaha, X_X

if you already finished reading the novel til the lastest volume now. I think you will start to grasp the main story about SAO.
Cause the story is not about the online game of SAO which is took place at aincard. but more about the software that named SAO by the mighty creator Kayaba Akihiko.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I enjoy TONS of subtitled stuff, but I have to admit...sometimes to re-winding and pausing when the dialogue gets heavy or complex.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I know Aico has a shit dub but sometimes I find myself watching in English and feeling lazy because its easier to watch more now that way.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I used to be able to marathon stuff so easily but now I can't do the 12 episodes in one go thing like I used to.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Something goes off, even after 30 minutes to an hour "Shit....have to see if something update...like NOW....can't stop myself"

Kaiser-Eoghan
I'm not the kind of person who messes with their phone in a cinema, but at home somehow theres this moments where I just get this distracting urge to keep checking some site, E-mail, snacking, going to the bathroom too often or lie down, look at someones doujin/smut art or write something all when I'm supposed to be doing something else.

Kaiser-Eoghan
What I mean is, I'll be reading/watching something and its not boring at all, maybe even interesting, but I can't stop pausing sometimes for...reasons and it takes me longer to get through something because of this.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I know this is pretty much an effect of living in this generation but, for those of you who experience this, how do you guys deal with "distraction." Sometimes this annoys me....

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: I'm evasive of "non-old man pubs" at night , particularly late at night, I don't want to come across any "characters" I'd prefer not to encounter.

Amagi
Well it's the reason why I never drink alcohol at home. Even if I were depressed it wouldn't change my mood so it's pointless.

Amagi
I can reach a point where I feel like dreaming but none of my character traits change. Guess it always varies depending on the person. Same with my best friend, he's just get tired when drunk, but nothing else ever happens.

Amagi
@Kaiser: Same here. Often go to pubs with friends at night but not only do I not want to ever get my mind "altered" by alcohol, it doesn't even work it seems. Or maybe it's the will or that I am just not influenceable.

KTravlos
I have been drunk, I do not like it. I do like being tipsy, but hate drunk. I generally like beer because it does not muck me up as bad as harder drinks (ouzo, raki, and I absolutely despise tequila). The first time in my life I celebrated Valentine's Day was this year. Have to say that it was not too bad.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Baccardi and Vodka were the only forms of alcohol I felt didn't especially taste "off" to me.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I also dislike Valentines day for the schmaltz, insincerity, fakeness around it and the idea there has to be "a day" for it and the captilization, commercialization of emotions.

Kaiser-Eoghan
In all my thirty one years I have never been drunk and never intend to, I dislike the idea of surrendering my mind to alcohol and feeling "altered". If anything you would be safer doing marijuana.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Its really just a day off or an excuse for 13 year olds to get drunk.

Kaiser-Eoghan
He was Welsh aswell and there weren't exactly that much snakes in Ireland to begin with.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Its technically St Patricks day now yes. Not that I personally care for it, I got going to the parade out of my system over a decade ago, never liked the oirishness and cliches/commercialisim around it, in the end it just makes it impossible to get around the city, plus the weather is so poor its pointless going out anyway.

SuperMario
I saw some Irish flags around my area. Is it St Patrick day today?

Kaiser-Eoghan
I did listen to some of aico's dub, I don't think any of these people are experienced or professional voice actors.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Anon: B the beginning was too much of an awkward genre mix. I was content to just ignore aico because I'm not a fan of Bones as a studio but you're the second person to say it reminds them of some old ova.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Anon: I enjoyed the combination of old and new with devilman, it even being able to eclipse the ovas, aswell as the experimental visual style and transgression, and as you said, the surprising emotional involvement.

Anonymous1889060
So i finish, B the Beginning, Aico, Devilman( What a feel's ride). and I must say that they're far from perfect, but they remaind me of 90, early 2000 anime, that i loved so much and that is a big plus. Today's anime doesnt feel quite the same in my opinion, what are your thoughts.. Now im getting excited to watch SWORD GAI!.

Kaiser-Eoghan
While obvious an anime series, After the rain often feels like a live action film.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Actually that does remind me, I never saw Pola X by Carax.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Miike is extremely hit or miss, but I loved how Audition minipulated the viewer with its slower first half before really taking off, most of Ichi the killer is just a perversely funny black comedy to me.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Chang-dong-Lee is refreshingly less melodramatic then other Korean directors.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Benh Zeitlin is one I'm not familiar with, but it turns out he did beasts of southern wild and I enjoy magical realism.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: I wasn't aware Carax was still alive, some sgements of holy motors work, others don't , lovers on the bridge was a more accessible film I recall.

SuperMario
@Fluca: okay. Kinda fixed it. I don't think we have a spoiler code so I just changed your spoiler into white color

Kaiser-Eoghan
Every time I here the title Aico, it makes me think its some kind of eco/environmental thing, which I know it isn't.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The fate/extra Alice character (I looked her up) looks like she belongs in rozen maiden.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The modern Japanese directors can be prolific Miike and Sono pump out more than one film a year.

Kaiser-Eoghan
And it shows, that Our little sister adaptation, that live action adaptations CAN sometimes work.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Quick fact, that action crime josei anime, Bananna fish, coming out in April is based on a manga by the writer of Our little sister's manga.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: The interest being, how he would handle something so removed from his usual style.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Actually re-checking, its next week, The third murder , which seems very different, a courtroom drama with some philosophy in it.

SuperMario
I really enjoy Our Little Sister, but I think mainly because the film is entirely within my comfort zone (Slice of life manga material, about the life of these girls)

SuperMario
@Kaiser: Which one will you see? He now directs one movie per year so it's hard to keep track some times. I really like his style and I reckon people who like slice-of-life will enjoy his movies

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: Hirokazu Koreeda has a new film out, seeing it on Friday, I've only seen Our little sister by him.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Anon: I essentially deleted the rest of the episodes off my computer after struggling through the first, like most, maybe moreso I got very turned off by the genre mixing. Thats not to say that I'm against genre mixes though, but they have to be weird, I mean really weird.

Amagi
I am not a fan of breather episodes, something most modern anime are pretty keen to insert. I hate breaking of climaxes in order to show three SoL-, fanservice- or formularic monster of the week episodes before the main plot progresses further. When I want SoL I go watch a full fleshed SoL. Aico is pretty straight forward and kinda easy to watch in one go in that regard. Nothing really new though.

Amagi
Just finished Aico. Had a few downsides like most series but I enjoyed it. Felt like a classic scifi anime you'd see in the 90s.

AidanAK47
@Anon, I watched it. Though it was mixed but a decent enough watch. It really felt like two shows hastily combined into one. Been thinking of writing a review for it and Aico once I finish Aico.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Nice animation showcase aswell though I don't know how long this will really stay i my memory, though it was nice.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Although it relies on being fairly convenient, linear and simplistic, that Mary witch flower anime movie is at its strongest when visually drawing the viewer into its world and wherever it shows spectacle. I'd say its adequately charming. Fair enough.

KTravlos
Hakata sounds like Gangasta. A series I enjoyed, despite its massive flaws

KTravlos
thanks guys. I will probably give it a try. I am also watching the Castlevania anime finally. Not really worth it for me. Also I watched the first episode of Garo Vanishing Line. I can a say it was fun.

Anonymous1881860
@Anon1880687 - I watched a couple of episodes. Feels like a foreign series. Since it doesn't feel like an anime made in Japan. I did like the group of revengers seem to have more personality than the main leads which insinuate chemistry but doesn't go deep into it. I don't remember if they explain why one of the leads chooses to dress like a girl. Though at least they give him/her a male voice.

SuperMario
@KTravlos: me. Not impressed. First few eps were alright with a set of bold characters, but later the lot just goes around in circle for these characters acting cool and cool rules the day. I dropped it after episode 6

Amagi
@Vonter: It gets more serious later although I agree it's better starting this without any knowledge about the series, like I did. I just loved the tragicomical jokes and the obsessive nostalgia Bojack suffered from and neither needed nor expected any drama but it was pretty good when it happened nonetheless.

AidanAK47
@Anon, Not really. They just wanted to find some justification for the trashy aspects for a show they liked rather than accept it.And while I understand how obnoxious it can be, there are times when people complain about a show doesn't explain itself and then get pissed off when you try to give an explanation.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: From what I hear, while it does have comedy, by the second season not only does it improve, but its more of a drama.

Vonter
I've been watching Bojack Horseman. It's good, yet watching certain clips before the actual series made me expect a darker show. I know it's a cartoon, but some jokes reduced the impact of certain events. Though I suppose it's meant to be uplifting and not just mean spirited. It gave me some Nier and Aku no Hana vibes.

KTravlos
We watched the first three episodes of B the Beginning. I must say I enjoyed it. We will see how the rest goes.

Kaiser-Eoghan
For example, doing a rant of a film will only communicate to your intellectual friends and people already in the know, the working class guy you want to inform with your societal/political/religious ideas , was probably watching a western back in the 60s/70s, just incorporate the themes into that while not sacrificing the films appeal

Kaiser-Eoghan
With regards to pretension, I think that comes into play when you have a director trying to communicate ideas but ends up becoming ridiculously, overly polemical, its better to communicate thought provoking ideas through something straight, while also remaining some distance.

Amagi
I think it often happens when authors create things on the fly, at least with manga. You can see terrible forms of comedy/SoL -> drama/scifi switches among webcomics, which are usually done by "amateurs", some of them being pretty young. It's always good when a series hints or blatantly shows what it is during its first episodes/chapters. Not talking about mysteries but genres.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Usually for dramatic comedy to work I feel it needs to let the viewer know early on that the story will feature both....the sudden drama thing generally is a result where a funny film needs an ending and a story needs to be fabricated hastily.

Amagi
Melodrama is like genre mixes. If it does work it can be something special, but it's really hard to write and most directors just lack the talent to do so. It's like a comedy that turns serious at some point. It CAN work, but there aren't many cases where that happens. Usually they're just alienating their comedy fans and the drama fans weren't there to begin with.

Kaiser-Eoghan
If the mekodramatics can properly cast a spell on a viewer, I am open to it if the writers strong enough but in general, when I'm watching something, the best stories are the ones where the atmosphere is so assure I forget I'm watching fiction.

Amagi
I know they just want to make their audience feel good but I think it's a terrible moral or idea. Especially since most people know at least one person they loved that died from such illnesses. No matter what they did or tried to do to overcome it.

Amagi
Yeah exactly. Honestly most cancer movies are terrible I think. I also hate these series in which the main character, I don't know, wins a match for his cancer-ridden love and then s/he recovers.

Amagi
@Kaiser: Not using music can be a great method to illustrate serious moments I think.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I've spoken to my father about this, who recovered from cancer years ago, those kind of phrases irritate him, hr said "Yeah....you don't battle, fight cancer, you fucking suffer through it, then if your lucky you get through it"

Amagi
I mean, again, I loved Madoka but I see how this method they used is kinda cheap. It's still better than many other series of that type. I am aready looking forward to see how terrible Magical Girl Site is, the trailer looks like a psycho face trash fest.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The really annoying thing is when some of these docs and dramas use phrases like "her battle, her FIGHT, her BRAVE fight against cancer.

Amagi
I enjoyed Madoka but I know what you mean. I think I will never rewatch Madoka but I love to see certain Tutu- and Sailor Moon scenes from time to time. I think Madoka is kinda similar to netflix shows or code geass in that regard. It always ends with some evil cliffhanger to hype you up for the next episode and it throws in one shocking revelation after another for the same reason.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: On the music thing, some documentaries do this. What I loved about Shoah and night and fog is that the directors showed the landscapes/buildings where it happened and never used music.

Amagi
I mean I know how bad ww2 and other things were. I really don't need rain, sad music and lots of actor tears to realize that. It reminds me of the laughing tracks sitcoms have that tell you when you have to laugh. And newer movies have exaggerated effects as well, not a fan of that. I rather see well thought-out content than a bomb-show. Not to mention that I hate sensory overload.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Its also kind of why I can NEVER look at hentai of something I enjoyed when I was young.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I grew up with Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailormoon and looking into lighthearted mahou shoujo , I don't mind nanoha and tutu, but there was always the feeling madoka was corrupting something.

Kaiser-Eoghan
On dark moe, I've stopped with lol edgy when criticizing Madoka, I realize that its the equivalent to Batman porn to me, the idea of that level of a slant on a genre I went for when I was a kid.

Amagi
I agree. I was interested in Schindler's List when I was ~12 or so because it was something new for me. Nowadays I realize it's not really my thing, there are many western war shows that come of as too "pathetic" to me, they feel too much like, well, Hollywood blockbusters (which is what they actually are) than a serious commetary on war or so.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: Thats the trouble I have with Hollywood , a film about Autism like Rain man or a mental illness movie like I am Sam, these American movies never seem real and the depictions feel so hammy and inaccurate.

Kaiser-Eoghan
On the dark moe trope, rather than throwing out words on it, its the tonal inconsistency that gets to me.

Amagi
Yeah the opposite is bad as well. A show can have good intentions, even lots of good ideas but still have a bad execution.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Schindler's list is a great example of this, personally I think popcorn drama/oscar baiting the holocaust is somewhat distasteful and the film comes off as comparitively ingenuinely when I've seen a couple of eastern war films by people who actually lived during the war.

Amagi
And "egdy" is very much about the tone a series has and not so much the actual content. Therefore it has to be explained as well, a dark series, even one with lots of blood, isn't necessarily edgy, it depends on the stance the autor has, whom we're supposed to root for and why, how characters and scenes are depicted and the overall tone, moral and so on.

Kaiser-Eoghan
On another note, to go back to "critic proof", this is a terrible practice because it allows people to take an easy topic for a story and it become forbidden to give a bad review.

Amagi
Yeah, "badly written" for example doesn't mean anything unless you're gonna illustrate how it is badly written by showing and analyzing examples from the show and explain why the writing for these scenes is weak

Kaiser-Eoghan
Thats why I like here, people actually talk about a show in some detail, even the reviewers.

Kaiser-Eoghan
An non-backed up opinion when I'm looking for a show to follow doesn't tell me anything, how am I meant to know to watch something based on a single word or sentence?

Kaiser-Eoghan
I suppose its less of a case of buzzwords and more how people don't explain anything . The reason I say I have to do a 300 word review or long opinion on something is because I feel buzzwords and one word/one sentence opinions are un-helpful.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Amagi: And I think thats certainly an issue, the lines being bkurred between shitposting/trolling and genuine critique .

Amagi
I mean there are a lot of badly written shows out there or shows that are too tryhard, but people often use these phrases as buzzwords for everything and don't state reasons for using these terms for a specific show. I see tons of "egdy" posts as soon as a series is a bit darker than the usual harem and it's hard to distinguish these pieces from actual shitposts or trolls.

Amagi
It sounds better to say that I don't like something because it's too egdy, too stupid and pure pandering (when it's about moe) or "badly written" than saying that I can't relate to certain settings, characters and so one or that I've seen a certain idea too often.

Amagi
@Kaiser: I think many people just don't want to admit that disliking a series is usually a subjective thing. They rather want to credit their own intelligence for not liking it.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Tetsuo , bubblegum crisis, cyber city oedo are other good ones as was goku midnight eye.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: It was the rebellion bit that got me worried if they were planning some sort of follow up.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I, robot eh? I remember that one, I don't mind Will Smith but he's not convincing in a serious role.

Vonter
The replicants preparing for war, took me out of the movie, since it was delivered like a footnote for your action blockbuster, kinda like how they ripped apart I, Robot.

Vonter
Still I got reminded why it inspired manga and anime like Akira, Cowboy Bebop and many others. There's a lot of atmosphere, and like I said, the visual storytelling is very strong. Since there were a lot of double meanings to several shots early in in the film. The egomaniac Jesus wannabe villain felt very odd, especially his speechifying.

Kaiser-Eoghan
But I'll have to see it again with that extended cut when I'm less the victim of hype.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Theres a certain idea of....they made an OKAY blade runner sequel, it wasn't allowed to be bad or great.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Vonter: Its a case really of, you had a four star film! Then turned it into a three star!

Kaiser-Eoghan
Then again I am interested when Denis will be going back to his arthouse films instead.

Star Crossed Anime Blog

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